What would you do?

[Owlie]

Someone "helpfully" put the employee pricing sheet from the company that makes the bike I'm looking at on the lunch table at work.

I happened to be flipping through it, and came up with the following:

Bike 1:
2012, Carbon frame (in black and red, my favorite bike colors!)
Mostly 105 (chain, cassette, crankset, possibly brakes are other things)
$945

Bike 2:
2011, carbon, Ultegra (except brakes)
$1575

The 2013 version of Bike 2 has Ultegra on it, but the crankset, cassette and chain aren't. I'd like full Shimano parts for ease of finding replacements, so I'm seriously reconsidering this brand. It's not Giant, but it seems to have the same practice of using "off-brand" parts to keep the cost down (and looking at the 2013 offerings from Giant, they seem to be doing less and less of that in the price range I'm looking at.) I'm contemplating just saving my money and getting the SuperSix that I was considering to begin with.

And then, there's bike 3: A steel CX bike with disc brakes and SRAM Apex. Approximately $950 with my employee discount. The only downsides are that it's SRAM (the hoods are more comfortable than Shimano, but I cannot for the life of me figure out the shifting), it's quite a bit heavier than my current bike and sizing is tricky. It's sized similarly to Surly, by the looks of it, so I'm somewhere between the extra-small (51.2cm top tube) and the small (53cm top tube). Tempting, but I'm trying to figure out where I want to put my money. New road bike that fits, doesn't cost a whole lot but isn't what I want; a new road bike that (I think) fits, is exactly what I want but costs nearly double the other bike; or a bike that's versatile but isn't a "go really fast" bike.

I need to win the lottery.

[thekarens]

I know nothing, but I'd go with the CX bike if I had a decent road bike. I might be biased towards steel though. :-)

[indysteel]

Even if a bike isn't fully speced with Shimano at the outset, you can generally still use Shimano replacement parts. So if the 2013 version of Bike 2 otherwise fits and meets your requirements, I would consider it. But a carbon bike with full 105 for less than $1k is a really good deal. That would be my pick.

[SFLiz]

What is the price delta between the 2011 and 2013 versions of Bike2? Cog and chain are inexpensive to change over time when you are ready. I just swapped out the cassette that came with my new bike from Tiagra to Ultegra (most of groupset is Ultegra, except for front derailler -105, and cog). Cost $110 from LBS. I haven't shopped at Wiggle since I moved back to the U.S. but when I was living in Australia, I used to buy the majority of my bike parts for my mountain bike and flatbar from the U.K. store. Shimano brakes from there would not set ya back much and you can acquire when budget allows. Ditto for chain. But it's really too bad the crankset is not Ultegra. That's prob going to be at least $250 to swap out I would think (not sure).

Ultegra is such a great groupset, I lean toward the 2011 bike2 unless you think you can wait patiently for your next bike (super6).

It doesn't sound like you want Bike3, if less weight and zippier is what you would like to have....do you really want to go heavier than your current bike? I wouldn't worry too much about SRAM hoods; I think you can grow accustomed to them with a little practice.

I wouldn't get a bike I didn't want at the onset (Bike1 for you).

[Owlie]

What is the price delta between the 2011 and 2013 versions of Bike2? Cog and chain are inexpensive to change over time when you are ready. I just swapped out the cassette that came with my new bike from Tiagra to Ultegra (most of groupset is Ultegra, except for front derailler -105, and cog). Cost $110 from LBS. I haven't shopped at Wiggle since I moved back to the U.S. but when I was living in Australia, I used to buy the majority of my bike parts for my mountain bike and flatbar from the U.K. store. Shimano brakes from there would not set ya back much and you can acquire when budget allows. Ditto for chain. But it's really too bad the crankset is not Ultegra. That's prob going to be at least $250 to swap out I would think (not sure).

Ultegra is such a great groupset, I lean toward the 2011 bike2 unless you think you can wait patiently for your next bike (super6).

It doesn't sound like you want Bike3, if less weight and zippier is what you would like to have....do you really want to go heavier than your current bike? I wouldn't worry too much about SRAM hoods; I think you can grow accustomed to them with a little practice.

I wouldn't get a bike I didn't want at the onset (Bike1 for you).

I agree, I'm not overly enthused about Bike 1, except that it is a pretty good deal.
I don't have employee pricing on the 2013 bike yet, but it'll probably be somewhat less expensive. I'm not overly concerned with the cassette or chain, but one of the guys at work suggested switching out the crankset and brakes at the outset.
As for bike 3, it would fill a different role. I'd just save my money and buy the SuperSix later. Component-wise, it's an upgrade from what I currently have. I've been wanting a CX bike for a year or so, and it gives me the opportunity to see if I like riding off-road before committing to a mountain bike.

Thekarens, the "decent road bike" is sort of the problem. It's got 2300 components with a Sora rear derailleur, and it's not cost-effective to upgrade the components, especially considering that it doesn't really fit. It's close, but not sustainable to keep except as a backup or trainer bike.

[indysteel]

What crank and brakes come standard on the 2013 bike?